Xiaoqiao 小喬

In Chapter 44 of the Romance, as Cao Cao's great army invaded the south, Lu Su brought Zhuge Liang to see Zhou Yu. When Zhou Yu said that fighting would surely end in defeat and that he would ask to surrender, Zhuge Liang said that they need only send a single envoy to carry two people by small boat onto the river, and Cao Cao's army of a million would all doff their armour and withdraw. When Zhou Yu asked again and again who the two were, Zhuge Liang brought up the story that Cao Cao had newly built the Bronze Sparrow Terrace on the bank of the Zhang River and filled it with beautiful women chosen far and wide from all under heaven. Romance, Ch. 44 §9–10 · 14–15

Zhuge Liang said that Cao Cao was by nature a lover of women and had long heard the rumour that Lord Qiao of Jiangdong had two daughters, the elder Daqiao and the younger Xiaoqiao, with faces that would make fish sink and wild geese fall and looks that would make the moon hide and flowers blush. Cao Cao, he said, had sworn that his wishes were to pacify the four seas and accomplish the imperial enterprise, and to obtain the two Qiao women of Jiangdong, keep them on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace and enjoy his old age; his eyeing Jiangnan with an army of a million was in truth for the sake of these two women. Zhuge Liang urged Zhou Yu to seek out Lord Qiao, buy the two daughters for a thousand pieces of gold and send them to Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 44 §16–17

When Zhou Yu asked for proof, Zhuge Liang recited the "Rhapsody on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace" composed by Cao Cao's young son Cao Zhi, which contained the line, "Embracing the two Qiao of the southeast, I shall delight in them morning and evening." Having heard it out, Zhou Yu flared up in anger, left his seat and, pointing north, cursed the old bandit for despising him so utterly. When Zhuge Liang asked why he should begrudge two women of the common people when even the Han Son of Heaven had given a princess to the Chanyu to make peace, Zhou Yu revealed that Daqiao was the principal wife of General Sun Bofu and Xiaoqiao was none other than his own wife. Romance, Ch. 44 §17–19 · 22

Zhuge Liang feigned alarm and begged forgiveness, saying he had truly not known and deserved death, and Zhou Yu swore that he and the old bandit could not both live under heaven, saying that what he had said earlier was only to test him. He then asked Zhuge Liang to lend his strength so that they might defeat Cao Cao together, and said that the next day he would see Sun Quan and discuss raising troops. Romance, Ch. 44 §22–24

In Chapter 48, Cao Cao, mellow with wine at a feast, told his generals that in the past he had been on very close terms with Lord Qiao and knew that his two daughters were both the greatest beauties of the land, but that unexpectedly they had married Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Then, saying that he had newly built the Bronze Sparrow Terrace on the Zhang River and that if he took Jiangnan he would take the two Qiao as wives, keep them on the terrace and enjoy his old age, he laughed loudly. At this point the Romance includes the poem by Du Mu of the Tang: "Had the east wind not favoured Zhou Lang, the two Qiao would have been locked in the Bronze Sparrow Terrace in deep spring." Romance, Ch. 48 §10–13

In Chapter 57, when Zhou Yu died, Zhuge Liang went to Chaisang to offer condolences and read a funeral address before his coffin. The address mourned Zhou Yu's bearing, saying, "He took Xiaoqiao as his fair match and became the son-in-law of a Han minister, without shame before the court." After this the Romance does not mention Xiaoqiao again. Romance, Ch. 57 §10–12